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Troubleshooting

Best DNS Servers for Gaming, Speed and Privacy

Your DNS server affects how fast websites and game servers resolve. Here are the best options depending on what you care about.

Updated 2026

  1. 1

    What DNS does

    DNS translates domain names (like google.com) into IP addresses. A slow DNS adds latency to every new connection — including game server lookups.

  2. 2

    Best for speed — Cloudflare 1.1.1.1

    1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1. Consistently the fastest public DNS globally. Also privacy-respecting — Cloudflare doesn't sell your data.

  3. 3

    Best for privacy — Mullvad or NextDNS

    Mullvad DNS (194.242.2.2) keeps no logs. NextDNS lets you customise filtering and logs. Both are HTTPS-encrypted.

  4. 4

    Best for gaming — Google 8.8.8.8

    8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4. Extremely reliable with near-zero downtime. Good latency globally. Won't block gaming traffic.

  5. 5

    How to set DNS on your router

    Log into the router admin panel → WAN or Internet settings → DNS Server → enter your chosen addresses. This applies to every device on the network.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does changing DNS actually make gaming faster?
It can reduce the time to resolve game server addresses — usually by 10–50ms on the first connection. It doesn't lower in-game ping once connected.
Should I change DNS on the router or on each device?
Router level applies to every device automatically. Per-device gives more control. Both work — router-level is easier.